7 Sustainable Cooking Methods

Posted on Jan 15, 2020 in Sustainable Living & Sustainable Lifestyle by Matthew Speer 1 Comment

Using sustainable cooking methods leads to a better environment and healthier community. Learning how to cook in a sustainable way is not difficult. In fact, much of it is common sense.

Consider some of the following sustainable cooking methods – or those that involve where you go out to eat or get your food. What’s great about the times we live in is that you have more resources than ever. Many of them come from the local farm not far from where you live.

Shop and Eat Local

One of the smartest and most sustainable moves you can make is to eat local. Food travels an average of 1,000 miles in America, from farm to table (called “food miles”). That has a big impact on fuel consumption and the energy needed for refrigeration, not to mention the increased likelihood of spoiled food. Shopping at local farmer’s markets is one of the best steps toward learning how to cook in a sustainable way. You also should consider eating out at restaurants that get food locally.

Stop Wasting “Ugly” Food

We’ve all done it. While shopping for vegetables, we skip over any knobby carrots, misshapen onions or other produce that isn’t perfect. This is one reason why, around the world, we dump 1.3 billion in food waste every year, about a third of all food produced. Stop looking for perfect produce and get those “ugly” ones that still taste fine.

Catering

If you end up having a meal catered rather than cooking yourself, choose a company that models itself like this Tampa Bay catering company that offers dishes made from locally sourced food. This is another way to support local farmers and reduce the amount of energy expended in creating your meals.

Cook Seasonal Food

Another cooking tip to promote food sustainability is to cook and eat foods that are seasonal, just like your ancestors did. For example, eat more root vegetables and greens in the fall and winter and more salads and fruits during the summer. You’ll spend less and eat in a pattern that matches nature’s cycles.

Go For Grass-Fed Beef

Beef that is 100% grass-fed and pasture-finished offers more nutrients than industrial, grain-fed beef. Most grass-fed farmers also use farming practices that involve rotational grazing, which helps the farms to become carbon sinks, keeping carbon from rising into the atmosphere and contributing to global warming. Grass-fed farms also don’t typically use growth-promoting hormones or antibiotics.

Grow Your Own Garden

Talk about reducing food miles! Growing your own vegetable garden is one of the most sustainable things you can do. One idea is to start simple, with herbs, tomatoes and peppers that you can grow in pots on your patio. If that goes well, move into other vegetables or berries.

More Plants

As food writer Michael Pollan puts it, “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.” The planet gives us an interesting variety of plants to eat – they should be the focus of your cooking efforts. They are, for the most part, more sustainable than other foods. Cook meat and fish if you want to, but keep the portions small and eat less of it than you do now.

All the above can help you create more sustainable cooking methods in your kitchen, without preventing you from eating well. Just being a little smarter about cooking and eating can help you meet your goals for sustainable living.